Foster & Smith, Inc. was an American mail order and e-commerce pet supply corporation based in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.

A series of mergers in the early 2000s added aquarium, bird, ferret, and other specialty products to the company's catalogs.

[7] The company's large facilities allow it to handle most tasks – including product development, marketing, warehousing, software engineering, building construction and maintenance – in-house.

Foster and Smith aquatics division, LiveAquaria.com, operates the Aquaculture Coral & Marine Life Facility in Rhinelander.

[9] The website contains primers on pet care, encyclopedia style articles, a medical dictionary, and technical material aimed at veterinarians.

[1] In the early 1980s, veterinarians Martin Smith and Rory Foster owned and operated four animal clinics in northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

[7] The duo was looking for ways to supplement their income in the winter (when business was slow), when a client of Foster asked him for advice on administering vaccinations he had purchased from a mail order catalog.

[2] When Foster was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, his brother Race joined the practice and took over Rory's clinic duties.

[2] As Rory's illness worsened and he was limited physically, he continued to write veterinary advice published in the catalog.

[1] Aiming for national distribution from day one, the partners searched specialty dog publications, recording the names of potential customers – breeders, kennel owners, hunters, and fellow veterinarians.

[2] Two people were hired to answer the phones and handle distribution from the clinics' waiting rooms, which were used to store products.

[2] Cat and horse supplies were added, and the partners shifted the catalog's focus to include regular pet owners.

Foster and Smith, however, made no attempt to compete with the new Internet retailers on their terms, spending no money on advertising for its website.

Foster and Smith increased its market share by 20% through the acquisition of Pet Warehouse, a Dayton, Ohio mail-order catalog, in a cash buyout.

[12] Later in 2001, LiveAquaria.com, a specialty aquarium supply company, was purchased by Foster and Smith,[2] and its operations were moved from Dayton, Ohio to Rhinelander, Wisconsin.

[2] The ads were aimed at reinforcing the idea that the company's catalog items are hand selected by veterinarians, according to the then marketing director Joe Voellinger.

Foster and Smith moved into product development, introducing its own brands of cat and dog food.

[2] Around the same time, company sales were boosted through an auto-replenishment program that automatically billed customers for regularly bought items – food and certain medicines – after an email reminder a few days prior.

[13] Later in 2005, the company donated over $100,000 worth of pet supplies to Hurricane Katrina animal rescue efforts.

Foster and Smith signed an agreement with Target, that enabled the company to move into brick and mortar retail for the first time.

Foster and Smith was mentioned by The New York Times as an early adapter of videos showing 360-degree views of catalog products.

[citation needed] In 2008 and 2009, Foster and Smith sponsored a weekly national television program on Animal Planet called Drs.

The program, which ran for two seasons, featured celebrity interviews, hands-on demonstrations, and an "Ask the Vet" segment.

[10][20] Animal Planet marketed Faithful Friends as "the definitive source for your pet's wellness and a home for professional veterinarian advice.

Foster and Smith and LiveAquaria.com continue to remain nationally recognized brands as the newest divisions of Petco's growing online presence.

Petco, who owns Foster and Smith cites a partnership with Express Scripts as its purpose for closing the company.

[23] The website URL was redirected to Petco.com in the spring of 2019, and all warehouse, call center and pharmacy facilities were closed down by mid-2019, ending over 35 years of Drs.

[8] In 2007, a ForeSee Results survey ranked Doctors Foster and Smith fifth in customer satisfaction among the 100 highest-grossing online retailers.

[27] In a 2001 review for The Washington Times, Joe Szadkowski gave PetEducation.com an "A" rating and said the website featured "an incredible array of 'I didn't know that' facts.

"[9] He stated that the site's search engine and linked articles made finding needed information hassle free.